Screen cleaner



Oct M. c. CECKA 2,332,780

SCREEN CLEANER Filed April 24, 1941 35 32 37 15 Q {NVENTQR BY 7 nd?TTORNEY S.

PatentedOct. 26, 1943 UNITED. STATES PATENT .OFFICEY i 2,332,780 rSCREEN CLEANER Methodius CyrilCecka, Lockport, N. Y.,, assignor toRichmond Manufacturing Company, Lockport, N. Y., a corporation of NewYork Application April 24, 1941, Serial No. 390,143 1 Claim. (Cl.209323) This invention relates to, a screen cleaner and moreparticularly to such a cleaner adapted for use with gyrating orreciprocating shake sifters, screens or bolting quipment to keep themeshes of the sifting, screening or bolting silks, wires or othersifting mechanism from clogging with the material being eparated orgraded.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide such a screen cleanerwhich will maintain the meshes of the screen open at alltimes during itsoperation so, as to maintain'maximum separating capacity and efiiciency.

A further object is to;provicle such a cleaning device which produces aminimum, wear on the sifting device.

A further object is to provide such a cleaning device whichwill maintainthe meshes of a screen or sifting surface open by the action or motionof the screening mechanism itself without propulsion by mechanical meansofthe cleaning device independently of the screening mechanism.

A further object is to provide a cleaning device which can be used'in,or upon, any type of cleaning, sifting or bolting equipment.

A further object is to provide acleaning device molded or formed fromrelatively; soft compounded or synthetic rubbenor from asuitablerelatively soft resilient plastic and; loaded with a weight of heaviermaterial than therubber or plastic for the purpose of making thecleaning device heavier than thenatural weight of-the material fromwhich it is fabricated. Such weighting of the rubber or plastic bodypermits of the use of lighter, softer and more resilient material in thebody of the cleaner, thereby to provide increasedlife, decreased wearupon the screen, and increased movement and efiiciency of the body as ascreen cleaner.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a screen cleanercomposed of a weighted body of relatively soft rubber or resilientplastic in' which the weight is eccentrically disposed with reference tothe center of gravity of the body so as toimpart an erratic, bouncingmovement of the cleaner against the screen, thereby to improve itsefliciency as a screen cleaner.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a weighted body ofresilient material in which no fire hazard is created and in which thereis no danger of damage to any of the equipment in the event that any ofthe weighting material becomes freed from the resilientbodiesi Anotherobject of the invention is to provide such a screen cleaner which, whenused on top of the screen,.will serve to break up balls of ma- Flg.,1 isa horizontal section through ascreen tion, taken on .line 5-5, Fig. 4.

frame and showing the same equipped with screen cleaners embodying'm'yinvention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical, enlarged, transverse section, taken on line 2- -2,Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical, further enlarged, transverse section taken online33, Fig. 2, and showing one of the screen cleaners embodying myinvention in section.

Fig. 4 is a view similar'to Fig. 1 and showing a screen frame of aconstruction suitable for use withthe screen cleaners ontop of thescreento break up balls of material which tend to ball up on the screen.

Fig. '5 is a vertical, enlarged, transverse sec- For the purpose ofillustrating the action of the screen cleaning devices forming thesubject of my invention, the screen cleaners are shown in conjunctionwith a screen frame which may form a part of any type of agitatedscreening, sifting or bolting equipment. Thus, the screen frameconventionally illustrated could, be used in conjunction with a gyratorysifting machine, a reciprocating sifting machine or a combined gyratory.and reciprocating sifting machine.

The form of the screen illustrated in Figs. 1-3, is shown as including aframe 1 which is shown as being of square rectangular form although itwill be understood that the frame can be of any form to suit theparticular machine in which it is used. Upon the upper side of thescreen frame I is mounted a screen or bolting cloth 3. Although thisscreen usually consists of fine mesh woven silk cloth for use inmanufacturing flour and other powdered or granular stock, thi screen maybe made of anyotherjm'aterial and size of mesh to suit the particularkind of material which i is to be sifted. Below the bolting screen acleaner carrier 9 is mounted on the screen frame 1, this cleaner carrierpreferably consistingofa grate of coarsely woven wires and upon whichthe cleaners embodying the present invention are supported for cleaningthe bolting cloth screen 8 from it underside. The cleaning .devices l5embodying my invention are illustrated inFigs. 1-3 as inserted in thespace H) between the screen 8 and the cleaner carrier 9 of each screenframe. ,The screen cleaners are confined in this space 10 by theframe 1. I The. cleaning device I5 is shown as ooinprising; a sphericalbody l5 made of compounded or synthetic and relatively soft andresilient rubber or of a suitable relatively soft and resilient rubberyplastic, this body being provided with a sphere I of a material heavierthan the rubber or the plastic for the-purpose o'f makingthe cleaningdevice heavier than the natural weight of the, resilient material'fro'mwhich it iscompounded. This weight "can bemold'edorotherwise provided inthe spherical body 26 of resilient material and is arranged eccentric tothe center of gravityof the molded body 26, this constituting' animportant feature of the invention.

A further feature of the invention resides in the composition of theeccentric Weighting sphere 11. It is essential that this be made of amaterial having'a high specific gravity so as to greatly increase theweight of the spherical body it of plastic material. By using a materialhaving such high specific gravity it is possible to employ relativelysoft and resilient rubber or plastics in th composition of the sphericalbody it thereby to provide improved bouncing action of the screencleaner with a minimum amount of wear and abrasion upon the screen. Itis further essential, where danger of fire or explosion exists, thattheweighting sphere ll be made of a non-ferrous metal or suitablecompound or plastic so that there'will b no danger of sparks beinggenerated in the event that-the Weighting spheres i! become exposed. Thedanger of such sparks in flour mills, chemical plants and processes isrecognized as a, serious fire hazard. It

isfurther essential, where the screened materials are to be subsequentlyprocessed, that the material of which the spherical weight H is composedbe of suchsoft nature that it Will readily pass through millingmachinery, such as rolls, crushers and pulverizers withoutdanger ofinjuring this machinery. r

I have found that by using lead for the weighting spheres I! all of theabove requirements are met, lead having a high specific gravit so as toprovide the desired total weight of the screen cleaner even whenrelatively soft and resilient rubber or plastics are used in thecomposition of the spherical body it; lead being non-ferrous so thatthere is no danger of'its causing sparks, if exposedywith consequentfire hazard; and lead being sufficiently soft to' pas through the rollsand other milling machinery without danger of injuring the rolls ormilling machinery.

theoperationof a screen cleaner, sifter, bolte'r or screening deviceincluding screens equipped with screen cleaners as above described, thescreen frame is caused to be agitated so as to yrateiwith a circularmotion or move with a reciprocal shake, or a combination of both.Sincethe cleaning device forming the subject of this invention is notfastened to this apparatus, its inertia tends to keep it stationary whenthe sifter is in'operation. This condition causes the carrier wire 9, or(rough surface, on which the cleaning device rests, to move in its pathat a speed greater than the cleaning device, which ,by its inertia andthe pull of gravity tends to remain in a tationary position. The roughsurface in moving under the cleaning-device causes the angle and forcewhich it receives under the impact. This upward or sideward motioncauses the cleaning devic to come into contact with the underside of thescreening surface 8 which it is to clean. The motion caused by theimpact of the rough surface 9 on thecleaning device causes the cleaningdevice to strike the underside of 'of the screening surface.

the screening surface 8 with a sliding or rubbing or tapping action, orboth. The cleaning device, by this impact. of the-projections of therough surface 9 under it, Will travel in a trajectory, the apex of whichis a point on the sifting screen 8 to be cleaned, and returns by thepull of gravity to the rough surface 9 at a, point some distance from thpoint at which it received the first impact. Upon again making contactwith the moving rough surface 9, the cleaning device again comes incontact with a projection on this surface thereby causing another impactwhich again impels the cleaning device in a trajectory upward andsideward against the cleaning surface 8.

a Since the surface 9 on which the cleaning device rests is in agenerally horizontal plane, the motion of the cleaning device under theimpact of the projections of this rough surface, causes the cleaningdevice to travel in a trajectory to land at another point at somedistance from its ori inal point of impact, and upon landing the actionof propulsion and trajectory is repeated, thereby to cause the cleaningdevice to rapidly move its position from place to place under thescreening area and to rub and ta the entire area of th screeningsurface. The vertical walls of the frame I, which restrict the travel ofthe cleaning devices to the area of the Screening surface 8 which it isto clean, propel the cleaning device with the same effect a theprojections of the rough surface 9 supporting the cleaning device andaid in th rubbing and tapping effect which the cleaning device produceson the underside of the screening surface.

Each time th cleaning device comes into contact with the underside ofthe screening surface 8 it produces a tapping or rubbing motion, orboth, thereby to dislodge any particles which may tend to be caught inthe apertures of the mesh By this means the meshes of the screeningsurface 8 are kept free from particles which are small enough to becomelodged inthe mesh of the screen, but too large to pass through theapertures without force. In its action, the cleaning device taps or rubsthe particles lodgedin the mesh apertures from the underside and causethese particles to dislodge from the mesh and return to the top of thecleaning surface where it is rejected by the apertures of the meshasoversize since its dimensions are too large to permit it to pass throughthe mesh freely. This insures accuracy of size determination by the meshapertures of the screening surface and by dislodging the particles, theapertures are kept open for the passage of proper sized particles.Maintaining a maximum of unclogged apertures in the mesh increases thequantity of material passing through the screening surface and" therebyincreases the capacity of the sifter. V I

The additional weight provided by th heavy core I! molded in theresilient body it of the cleaning device increases the efficiency of thecleaning device. As the cleaning device is effective through its'si'deward and upward moving inertia after impact with a projection ofthe rough surface 9 on which it is supported, it will be seen that theincreased weight provided by the weighting core i'i-"renders th cleaningdevice the maximum efiiciency with the minimum wear of both the cleaningdevice and the screening surface. The use of a lead weight or the likethereby permits of the use of a softer and more resilient material forthe body of the cleaning provides a relatively smooth surface withoutsharp edges or projections, this combined with the relatively soft,resilient surface of the cleaning device permitted by the use of theeccentric weight l1, reducing the frictional and abrasive wearingefiecton all thesurfaces with which the cleaning device comes in contact. Theresilient outer surface of the cleaning device further provides longeroperating life for the cleaning device itself.

By the use of lead for the eccentric weight H, the desired increasedweight for the cleaning device can be readily provided because of thehigh specific gravity of lead. Further, if this weight should bereleased there is no danger of its causing sparks, with consequent firehazard,

as would be the case if a ferrous metal were used.

Also, if the weight ll of any cleaning device should become detached andpass through with the cleaned material, there is no danger of injury tothe subsequent milling equipment since the lead, on passing throughmilling rolls, will be flattened out without injury to these rolls.

It has been found that where the material being sifted has a tendency toball up, that is, v

the tendency to form into large masses which will not, of course, gothrough the screen, the

contacting any cohered masses of material will break up these masses sothat all of the material of screenable size will pass through the meshesof the screen. Such use of my screen cleaners is shown in Figs. 4 and 5in which is shown a frame 30 having at least three sides which areconnected by cross bars 3| arranged under the screeningcloth 32, theedges of this screening cloth being suitably secured to the bars formingthe screened frame 30. The screen cleaners I5 embodying my invention areprovided in a suitable number on top of the screen 32 and are shown asconfined in different sections of the screen by pegs or nails 33 whichare driven through the screen 32 into the cross bars 3| arranged underthe screen, or suitably suspended over the screen from above. These pegsor nails 33 are, uniformly spaced and are arranged sufiiciently closetogether as to prevent the passage of the screen cleaners [5. These pegsor nails, however, permit the free flow of the material to be screenedalong the screen cloth. The frame 33 of the screen can be agitated inany suitable manner as by a gyratory motion, a reciprocating motion, anda combination of both reciprocating and gyrating motions. The screencleaners can be prevented from jumping over the pegs or nails 33 in anysuitable manner, as by stacking the frames 30, the screen cleanersthereby being confined in the spaces delimited by the pegs 33 and by theframe arranged above the screen upon which the screen cleaners aresupported.

In the operation of the screen cleaners embodying my invention asillustrated in Fig. 4, the

screen cleaners are arranged in the flow of the material over the screen32. As the screen frame is gyrated, reciprocated, or both, the screencleaners are caused to bounce around in a highly irregular and erraticpath in the same manner as in the form of the invention shown in Figs.1-3. If any of the material flowing over the screen 32 forms into a ballor cohered mass, the screen cleaner upon striking this mass willimmediately disintegrate it into its original powdery form therebypermitting the entire amount of screenable material to pass through thescreen While I have shown, in Figs. 1-3, a form of the invention inwhich the screen cleaners I5 are arranged on a rough carrier wire grate9 to rebound against the underside of the screen 8 to be cleaned,.andhave shown, in Figs. 4 and 5, these screen cleaners I5 arranged on topof the screen, it will be understood that these two uses of the screencleaners l5 can be advantageously combined. Thus, the screen cleanerscan be used both above and below the screen at the same time, thereby topreserve, in a pulverized condition, materials which tend to ball up ontop of the screen, and also to rebound against the underside of thescreen and keep the interstices thereof clean.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the 'present invention providesa. screen cleaner which is simple and inexpensive in construction; whichis eccentrically weighted so as to have a wildly irregular path ofmovement; which can be made of a soft, resilient, wear resistingmaterial and still have the necessary weight to act with the maximumefficiency against the underside of the screening surface to be keptclean and which is weighted with a material which is of high specificgravity, will not cause sparks, and cannot injure any of the millingequipment.

I claim as my invention:

In a sifting mechanism having a frame, a screen carried by said frame,and means carried by said frame and cooperating with said screen to forman enclosed space, said screen frame being adapted to be agitated, acleaner for said screen comprising a free solid sphere of soft,resilient, rubbery material arranged loosely" in saidspace and a weightof lead completely embedded in and enclosed by said sphere thereby toprevent said weight from dropping out and passing on in the processingto cause damage to other machinery following the screen, said weightbeing arranged on one side of the center of gravity of said sphere andsaid sphere being of less diameter than the shortest diametricaldimension of said space allowing said sphere to jump freely in alldirections.

METHODIUS CYRIL CECKA.

